A large number of films and television
series, and written literature portray more than one (type of) language
(than just standard British English, for instance), because they
include different languages or significant linguistic variations. The
translation of such texts poses certain challenges, since language
variation can fulfil certain functions (stylistic, pragmatic or
discursive). These texts are often referred to as multilingual (or
polylingual, plurilingual or even heterolingual).

The TRAFILM project aims to describe the reality of the translation of
multilingual audiovisual texts. We aim to discover professional and
social practices along with the norms and criteria of this specific
translation challenge. We will analyse films translated in Spain from
the beginning of the new millennium onward, in order to compare the
norms and tendencies when rendering linguistic diversity for dubbing and
subtitling. We will deal with translations from English (because of its
prevalence in the audiovisual markets), and into Spanish and Catalan
(the target languages of the academic, professional and social context
of the research team). The project pays special attention to gathering a
representative number of samples of how the phenomenon of
multilingualism has been dealt with in 21st-century films. We do not
restrict the number of language varieties that constitute the “third
language,” i. e. the variety that is not the source or target language,
since this research intends to analyse the functions of this variety in
order to deal with the related criteria for its translation. We will
also study the case whereby the presence of the “other” language happens
to be exactly the same language as the main target language for the
translation (for example, American English-language films which include
scenes in Spanish, and their dubbed or subtitled versions for Spain).
Thus, we intend to provide reliable data for refining existing
theoretical models of multilingualism in audiovisual translation, and to
compare tendencies across translation types.

The TRAFILM project also aims to create a consultable database, where
excerpts from multilingual films will be spotted and transcribed,
allowing the user to search languages and language variations with a
range of translation options. This database will offer quantitative and
qualitative data for research. It will also provide audiovisual
materials for translation training and foreign language acquisition.
Finally, it will provide a set of guidelines for translating
multilingualism, including diverse translation options.

The project aims to validate and refine the theoretical models on
audiovisual translation and multilingualism by describing and analysing a
rich collection of data. It also intends to provide useful material
resources, such as the consultable database and a set of guidelines for
translators, trainers and trainees.

The project TRAFILM (FFI2014-55952-P) is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness